Normal peristalsis within a GI tract is responsible for transporting swallowed food and aiding in digestion and eventual evacuation. Peristalsis results in pressure waves moving along the GI tract, in turn resulting in the motility of a bolus within the GI tract. Thus, changes in motility along the GI tract may indicate normal conditions such as food passing from one section of the GI tract to another (such as passage from the stomach to the small intestine or passage from the small intestine to the large intestine). Certain pathological conditions can alter the normal motility within the GI tract. Low motility may be caused by an obstruction or blockage or by other pathological conditions. It is often difficult to detect areas of low or abnormal motility within the GI tract, since these areas may be in difficult to reach locations. It is difficult to “see” inside the tract, especially in sections that are hard to reach via conventional methods, such as the small intestines. Motility is the result of complex neuro-physiological processes. Motility disorders may be caused by nervous disorders, and may not necessarily be visible as, for example, physiological changes in the intestinal tissue.
Various in vivo measurement systems for examining a body lumen are known in the art. A commonly known and used type of system is an endoscope. Endoscopes are devices which include a tube (either rigid or flexible) and an optical system, and which are introduced into the body to view the interior. The range of endoscopes—the portion of the GI tract, which endoscopes are capable of viewing—is limited. Endoscopes are usually not helpful in providing information on GI tract motility. Probes, such as pressure probes, may be used to measure peristaltic pressure waves. Other systems that may be used for obtaining information on GI tract motility include dissolvable vehicles containing non dissolving markers that are visible by X-ray. The vehicle is ingested and the progression of the markers, which are released in the GI tract once the vehicle is dissolved, can be followed by X-ray. This method, however, can not be used for continuous monitoring and also exposes the patient to hazardous X-rays.
A non hazardous system and method for monitoring and/or analyzing movement along the entire GI tract is needed, inter alia, for facilitating the understanding of GI tract motility and for expanding diagnostic (and perhaps therapeutic) possibilities in the GI tract.